Sports News-January 15, 2013

Cycling's governing body is urging Lance Armstrong to testify before its independent commission on doping. The International Cycling Union, or UCI, says it is aware of media reports that Armstrong confessed to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey taped yesterday. The federation says "if these reports are true, we would strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to the independent commission established to investigate the allegations made against the UCI in the recent USADA reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service team." The UCI says it won't make any further statement until it has seen the interview, which is to be broadcast on Thursday night. The UCI recently set up an independent panel to look into claims that it covered up suspicious samples from Armstrong, accepted financial donations from him and helped him avoid detection in doping tests.

The Creighton men’s basketball team jumped from 13th to twelfth in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and moved up from eleventh to tenth in the USA Today Coaches poll released yesterday. The 16-1 Bluejays won two games in the last week, routing Drake at home last Tuesday 91-61 and then defeated Missouri State 74-52 on the road last Friday. Louisville is the new number one in the AP Top 25. Indiana, Duke, Kansas, and Michigan round out the top five. Creighton will be in action next when they host 9-8 Northern Iowa on Tuesday at 7:05. The Bluejays are 5-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference while the Panthers are 2-3. In other Creighton men’s basketball news, for the fifth time this season and tenth time in his career, Doug McDermott has been named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. He had 39 points and ten rebounds in the win over Missouri State last Friday and earlier in the week had 16 points and seven boards in the blowout win over Drake.

Nebraska linebacker Sean Fisher has announced his plan to enroll in medical school next fall rather than petition the NCAA for a sixth season with the Cornhuskers. He broke his leg in preseason practice in 2010 and missed the entire season. Fisher could have asked the NCAA for eligibility in 2013. He said yesterday it's "time to move on" and put all his energy into preparing for medical school. Fisher said he appreciated the time coach Bo Pelini gave him to finalize his decision. Fisher started five of 14 games this past season, and his 48 tackles ranked ninth on the team. He carries a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in business administration/pre-medicine.

The Nebraska football team added another defensive line commit to its 2013 recruiting class yesterday when Tampa, Florida defensive end Ernest Suttles switched his pledge from Iowa State to the Huskers according to the Omaha World Herald. The 6’5, 220-pounder took an official visit to Lincoln last weekend, and is a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN, and a two-star prospect according to Scout. He committed to the Cyclones in October, took an official visit to Missouri in December, and also had offers from West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, among other schools. Suttles is viewed as a pass-rushing defensive end, and becomes the third defensive end recruit in the class, joining juco prospect Randy Gregory and A.J. Natter. The Huskers now have 20 commits for their 2013 class. Under Big Ten rules, they could take as many as 28 commits, or three more spots than the 25 scholarships currently available. In other Husker football news, quarterback Bronson Marsh is transferring to Nebraska-Kearney according to the Lincoln Journal Star. Marsh was NU’s third-team quarterback this past season.

The Nebraska-Omaha hockey team remained 13th in both weekly polls after a loss and a tie with Denver University last weekend. The Mavericks are ranked 13th in the latest poll from the website USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine. UNO is off until January 25th when they visit Bemidji State. Nebraska-Omaha is 13-9-2 overall and 9-5-2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Former hosts Omaha and Indianapolis are among six cities bidding to host the 2016 U.S. Olympic swimming trials. The other contenders announced yesterday are Greensboro, North Carolina, Jacksonville, Florida, St. Louis and San Antonio, Texas. The winning city will be announced in late April. An evaluation team from USA Swimming, along with an outside member of the governing body's board, will visit each location and select finalists from the group. A recommendation then will be forwarded to the group's executive director, Chuck Wielgus, the board of directors and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Omaha hosted the 2008 and 2012 trials, where more than 164,000 fans attended the eight-day meet that was broadcast live on NBC. Both times temporary pools were built inside the downtown CenturyLink Center.

The Omaha World Herald & Lincoln Journal Star updated their high school basketball rankings today. In the boys basketball polls, the 12-2 Lutheran High Northeast Eagles moved up from second to first in the Lincoln Journal Star and improved from third to second in the Omaha World Herald in Class “C-2”. In the girls rankings, the 10-3 Norfolk Lady Panthers are ranked ninth in the “Nebraska Top 10” & Class “A” in the Omaha World Herald while remaining tenth in the Lincoln Journal Star. The 8-3 Norfolk Catholic Lady Knights have reappeared in both media’s rankings at tenth in Class “C-1”.

The Omaha World Herald & Lincoln Journal Star have updated their high school basketball rankings. In the boys rankings, in the Omaha World Herald, Omaha Central remains first in the “Nebraska Top 10” & Class “A” while McCook is once again first in Class “B”. In Class “C-1”, Wahoo High stays at number one, Boone Central/Newman Grove jumps from sixth to fifth, Wayne moves up from seventh to sixth, and Columbus Lakeview & O’Neill enter the rankings at numbers nine & ten respectively. In Class “C-2”, Sutton is the new number one, Lutheran High Northeast improves from third to second, Hartington Cedar Catholic remains sixth, and Creighton falls out of the rankings. In Class “D-1”, Paxton is once again first, Howells/Dodge remains second, O’Neill St. Mary’s is once again sixth, and West Point Guardian Angels stays at number ten. In Class “D-2”, Falls City Sacred Heart is once again first, Wausa jumps from fourth to second, Wynot moves up from fifth to fourth, Humphrey St. Francis drops from second to sixth, and Bancroft/Rosalie remains tenth.

In the boys rankings, in the Lincoln Journal Star, Omaha Central remains first in Class “A” while McCook stays at number one in Class “B”. In Class “C-1”, Wahoo High is once again first, Boone Central/Newman Grove jumps from sixth to third, Wayne moves up from seventh to fourth, and Columbus Scotus enters the rankings at number seven. In Class “C-2”, Lutheran High Northeast is the new number one, Hartington Cedar Catholic drops from seventh to tenth, and Creighton falls out of the rankings. In Class “D-1”, Howells/Dodge is once again first and O’Neill St. Mary’s stays at number three. In Class “D-2”, Falls City Sacred Heart remains number one, Humphrey St. Francis slips from third to fourth, Wausa drops from fourth to fifth, Wynot slips from fifth to sixth, Bancroft/Rosalie remains ninth, and Lindsay Holy Family enters the rankings at number ten.

In the girls rankings, in the Omaha World Herald, Bellevue West stays at number one in the “Nebraska Top 10” & Class “A” and Norfolk High is ninth in both criteria. In Class “B”, Beatrice remains number one. In Class “C-1”, Minden remains first, Pierce is once again fourth, and Norfolk Catholic re-enters the rankings at number ten. In Class “C-2”, Crofton is once again first, Homer jumps from fourth to third, and Hartington Cedar Catholic falls out of the rankings. In Class “D-1”, West Point Guardian Angels stays at number one, Pender is once again second, Howells/Dodge remains third, O’Neill St. Mary’s stays at number four, and Emerson/Hubbard slips from fifth to sixth. In Class “D-2”, Humphrey High remains first, Wynot stays at number two, Lindsay Holy Family is once again fourth, and Osmond moves up from ninth to seventh.

In the Lincoln Journal Star girls rankings, Bellevue West stays at number one and Norfolk High remains tenth in Class “A”. In Class “B”, Grand Island Northwest stays at number one. In Class “C-1”, Kearney Catholic is once again first, Pierce stays at number four, Norfolk Catholic re-enters the rankings at number ten, and Columbus Scotus drops out of the rankings. In Class “C-2”, Crofton is once again first, Homer stays at number seven, and Hartington Cedar Catholic falls out of the rankings. In Class “D-1”, West Point Guardian Angels stays at number one, Pender remains second, Howells/Dodge is once again third, O’Neill St. Mary’s remains eighth, and Emerson/Hubbard stays at number ten. In Class “D-2”, Humphrey High remains first, Wynot is once again second, Osmond remains third, and Lindsay Holy Family is once again fourth.

This Evening: The Lutheran High Northeast girls & boys basketball team visits Pierce in a 6:15 doubleheader starting with the girls game. Pregame coverage at approximately 5:55 on 106 KIX & 106KIX.com.